ICC Appeals Chamber Issues Judgments on Bemba Case (March 8, 2018) [1]
On March 8, 2018, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its judgments on the verdict [3] and sentence [4] in the case The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo, Fidèle Babala Wandu and Narcisse Arido. The five accused were found guilty [5] of offenses against the administration of justice by Trial Chamber VII in October 2016 for corruptly influencing witnesses and soliciting false testimonies in the case of The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo before the ICC. According to the press release [6], the Appeals Chamber mostly confirmed the appeals against the five accused, though it acquitted Bemba, Kilolo, and Mangenda “of the charge of presenting evidence that a party knows is false or forged (Article 70(1)(b) of the Rome Statute), finding that this provision only applies to the presentation of documentary evidence, not to the calling of witnesses, as in the case at hand.” All five convictions are now final. The Appeals Chamber also rejected the appeals of Bemba, Babala, and Arido regarding their sentences, which are now final.